Yes, you can receive your Canadian pension (CPP and OAS) while living in the UK, as Canada and the UK have social security agreements. Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is payable anywhere, while Old Age Security (OAS) requires you to have lived in Canada for at least 20 years after age 18 to receive it outside Canada.
Yes, the pension is not indexed. However if you move back to the UK, your pension would go up to the rates payable in the UK.
If you have lived or worked in Canada and in another country, or you are the survivor of someone who has lived or worked in Canada and in another country, you may be eligible for pensions and benefits from Canada and/or from the other country because of a social security agreement.
Because CPP is a "member-contributed plan" it will always be yours, regardless of where you live in the world. If you paid in at least 1 CPP contribution, you are entitled to a benefit. OAS, on the other hand, comes out of the general tax revenues.
The Convention on Social Security between Canada and the United Kingdom (U.K.) came into force on April 1, 1998. The Convention is a limited agreement dealing only with contributions.
The following countries have social security agreements with the UK:
Income from a non-UK pension scheme
Foreign retirement income is relatively straightforward; in most cases it will be taxed in the UK as income. Some types of pension income are potentially exempt from UK tax e.g. certain disability and dependant's pensions, although conditions apply.
Leaving or returning to Canada
Your Old Age Security (and Guaranteed Income Supplement) may stop if you're away for more than 6 months and don't qualify for receiving your payments while outside Canada.
Deciding between a $44k lump sum and a $423/month pension depends on your health, longevity expectations, risk tolerance, and financial goals; the monthly check offers guaranteed income for life (great if you live long or need certainty) while the lump sum provides control and investment potential but risks misspending or market loss, though you can use it to pay off high-interest debt or invest for growth, but be mindful of immediate taxes and a potential loss of future guaranteed income for heirs.
Under the income tax treaty between the U.S. and Canada, benefits paid under the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Quebec Pension Plan (QPP), and Old Age Security (OAS) program to a US resident are treated as US social security benefits for US tax purposes.
You may be able to get Age Pension for the whole time you're outside Australia, even if you're leaving to live in another country. If you leave within 2 years of returning to Australia to live, your payment may stop if you: came back to Australia to live. started getting Age Pension after you returned.
In actual fact, you can be absent from Canada as long as you want. The Canadian government recognizes that citizens may travel extensively, work or study abroad. You will always maintain your Canadian citizenship. What absentia may affect is your Canadian health care coverage and income tax.
If you have lived in the UK for five years with a UK Ancestry visa, and meet some additional requirements, you can apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), which would allow you to live in the UK permanently. Once you have ILR, you can apply to naturalise as a British citizen, if you wish.
To avoid the UK's 60% tax trap (an effective 60% rate on income between £100k-£125k), the key is to reduce your adjusted net income back below £100,000 by making tax-efficient contributions, primarily via pension contributions, which reclaim your full £12,570 Personal Allowance, and also through salary sacrifice for benefits like childcare or cycle-to-work, and Gift Aid donations to charity.
What's the best place for Canadians to retire?
According to recent data from SmartAsset [1] and AARP [2], here's how retirement income and savings stack up in 2025: Average individual retirement income: $60,000/year or $5,000/month. Median individual retirement income: $47,000/year or $3,900/month. Average retirement income for couples: $100,000/year or $8,300/ ...
For a comfortable retirement in the UK, you should have at least £37,600 per year in savings, which is slightly above £3,000 per month.
If you have Social Security credits in both the United States and Canada, you may be eligible for benefits from one or both countries. If you meet all the basic requirements under one country's system, you will get a regular benefit from that country.
The $1,200 payment is a one-time direct deposit issued by the Canada Revenue Agency for seniors classified as low income based on their most recent tax return. The payment is not a loan, does not need to be repaid and does not replace existing monthly benefits.
Many financial planners say that having 60 to 70% of your current income in retirement will allow you to maintain your lifestyle in retirement. But, this rule of thumb doesn't work for everyone. If you have low income, you might need the same amount of money when you retire as you do now to cover all your basic needs.
The 1978 Canada-UK Double Taxation Convention has been modified by the Multilateral Instrument (MLI). The modifications made by the MLI are effective in respect of the 1978 Canada-UK Double Taxation Convention for: taxes withheld at source on amounts paid or credited to non-residents, from 1 January 2020.
If You Live in the United States
For U.S. tax purposes, your CPP and OAS are treated exactly like U.S. Social Security benefits. This means up to 85% of your payments may be taxable, depending on your total income and filing status.